Friday: Whenever I go record shopping in London I always just have a few things in mind that I want to get and always buy more. Went to HMV in Oxford street bought boxsets of Joy Division and Hank Williams, went down to Zavvi and bought some Dinosaur Jr. and Lou Reed then went to Ray's Jazz and got some John Coltrane and Flea Kuti, frightening. Had something to eat at the Tai off Soho Square, they've raised the price of the buffet and it doesn't taste as good as it used to, may stop going to that one in future. Went into the Crobar, got an odd look when I asked for orange juice, put some Iron Monkey, Anthrax, Clutch, Scissorfight and Down on the jukebox and looked through the CDs I just bought, this may be a Stoner hang out but they have the best jukebox I've seen since the Tap filled theirs up with Indie shite before doing away with it. Got in line outside the Astoria (not as many retarded kids lining up for hours before doors open as I thought there would be), read Norman Mailer and watch an old, drunk tramp harass passers by and fuck with motorist when they stopped at the red light, the best part was watching him lean on the seat of a Vesper then watch the driver nervously pat down his pockets to make sure the guy didn't nick anything. A miracle, the doors open and for the first time in three years the bouncers don't ask me if I'm drunk.
Fucked Up: I've always liked Gallows but Fucked Up was my main incentive for buying a ticket. Damien made his way out into the audience, his boxers torn and partly hanging out of his Bermuda shorts. Tried to get on the mic when they did Manqueller Man but couldn't get near enough, but I did get to scream right into the mic during David Comes To Life and Police when he got back onstage however before that happened Damien had been bashing the mic into his forehead 'til blood came streaming down his face, and I got the mic shoved right into my face at one point and I swear I got some of his blood on my lips.
Anti-Flag: Their politics may be nave but they still write good songs. Got crushed by teeny Punks down the front so I moved to the side. They played mostly shit off the last album (or it may be last two albums now, I stopped paying attention to their recorded output after The Terror State) but at least they played Underground Network. Sometimes I wished they'd shut up between songs and just play their music, although I did like the thing they said about "you may have come here with five friends but you're leaving with two thousand." How in touch are Anti-Flag with international politics? Before playing Die For The Government they dedicated it to George Bush and Tony Blair, although you can't blame them for not knowing that Gordon Brown is the Prime Minister now, he hasn't really done anything.
Gallows: The bane of going to see really popular bands is you have to hang around really twatty kids that got into them through MTV, I found myself standing next to a few fourteen year old kids hiding cigarettes from the bouncer on more than one occasion, like it was the fucking playground or something. I don't really like going to see Hardcore bands in huge venues, it's great to be down the front singing along and almost feeling like you're physically part of the show (I got my jollies for that during Fucked Up) but there are bands, like Sick Of It All for instance, that bring enough energy to the stage that they transcend the barrier, Gallows are one of those bands, it was just fun watching them from the side.
Damien from Fucked Up joined them when they covered Nervous Breakdown by Black Flag and I felt like I could have left at that point. Got my backpack from the cloakroom and watched the rest of the show from the balcony. They played Swarm Over Death from their demo for the first time since, shit, the first time I saw them before their album came out. Lethal Bizzal came out and joined them for their dodgy cover of Starring At The Rude Boys by The Ruts. During the last song Frank dived into the audience, I was fortunate to be where I was to watch what came next, when the song was over Frank came back onstage on his back very limp, he got helped to his feet staggering around like he had concussion, he started speaking "don't put bands on pedestals, if I can't jump into the audience that puts the band-audience barrier even further" the whole reason behind this rant was because someone tried to choke him, the problem was he actually identified himself by waving his hands in the air and shouting at Frank which got him angry and tried to get back in the audience to get the guy, he got restrained by the bouncers and I saw him spit at the guy. The crowd around the guy started pointing at him and chant "PRICK" Frank got back onstage and said "don't let the last five minutes ruin the night for you."
Got to Victoria, went to Marks & Spencer's for a fruit salad. Got a fast train to Chatham and a taxi home.
Fucked Up: I've always liked Gallows but Fucked Up was my main incentive for buying a ticket. Damien made his way out into the audience, his boxers torn and partly hanging out of his Bermuda shorts. Tried to get on the mic when they did Manqueller Man but couldn't get near enough, but I did get to scream right into the mic during David Comes To Life and Police when he got back onstage however before that happened Damien had been bashing the mic into his forehead 'til blood came streaming down his face, and I got the mic shoved right into my face at one point and I swear I got some of his blood on my lips.
Anti-Flag: Their politics may be nave but they still write good songs. Got crushed by teeny Punks down the front so I moved to the side. They played mostly shit off the last album (or it may be last two albums now, I stopped paying attention to their recorded output after The Terror State) but at least they played Underground Network. Sometimes I wished they'd shut up between songs and just play their music, although I did like the thing they said about "you may have come here with five friends but you're leaving with two thousand." How in touch are Anti-Flag with international politics? Before playing Die For The Government they dedicated it to George Bush and Tony Blair, although you can't blame them for not knowing that Gordon Brown is the Prime Minister now, he hasn't really done anything.
Gallows: The bane of going to see really popular bands is you have to hang around really twatty kids that got into them through MTV, I found myself standing next to a few fourteen year old kids hiding cigarettes from the bouncer on more than one occasion, like it was the fucking playground or something. I don't really like going to see Hardcore bands in huge venues, it's great to be down the front singing along and almost feeling like you're physically part of the show (I got my jollies for that during Fucked Up) but there are bands, like Sick Of It All for instance, that bring enough energy to the stage that they transcend the barrier, Gallows are one of those bands, it was just fun watching them from the side.
Damien from Fucked Up joined them when they covered Nervous Breakdown by Black Flag and I felt like I could have left at that point. Got my backpack from the cloakroom and watched the rest of the show from the balcony. They played Swarm Over Death from their demo for the first time since, shit, the first time I saw them before their album came out. Lethal Bizzal came out and joined them for their dodgy cover of Starring At The Rude Boys by The Ruts. During the last song Frank dived into the audience, I was fortunate to be where I was to watch what came next, when the song was over Frank came back onstage on his back very limp, he got helped to his feet staggering around like he had concussion, he started speaking "don't put bands on pedestals, if I can't jump into the audience that puts the band-audience barrier even further" the whole reason behind this rant was because someone tried to choke him, the problem was he actually identified himself by waving his hands in the air and shouting at Frank which got him angry and tried to get back in the audience to get the guy, he got restrained by the bouncers and I saw him spit at the guy. The crowd around the guy started pointing at him and chant "PRICK" Frank got back onstage and said "don't let the last five minutes ruin the night for you."
Got to Victoria, went to Marks & Spencer's for a fruit salad. Got a fast train to Chatham and a taxi home.